The Lost Scout
by Gage39
Summary: Sequel to 'The End of the Transformers' Not necessary to read first.  Optimus Prime leads a mismatched crew who are all descendents of the orignal TF:A crew.  What happens when Ratchet entrusts him with the duty of finding and reactivating Bumblebee?
1. Ratchet's Tale

The Lost Scout

Chapter 1: Ratchet's Tale

"_We could put him in cryo-stasis," Ratchet suggested as he turned away from the console that he had been pretending to study. _

_Optimus Prime frowned. "I don't like that idea, Ratchet," he said plainly. _

_Ratchet sighed heavily and stepped towards his comrade, "It's the only way, Prime. What do you want me to do? Watch him offline in front of my very own optics? Hear him pleading with me to end the suffering? Listen to him scream in pain as the virus wreaks havoc with his systems? No," Ratchet shook his head vehemently. "I've seen too many comrades die already, don't make me watch Bumblebee die too."_

_Optimus looked and felt trapped. This was the first time he'd had to make a decision like this, a decision that effectively ended Bumblebee's life either way. The only question was would he make Bumblebee suffer a long-drawn out death or be placed in cryo-stasis where he couldn't feel a thing? He was starting to wish that they had never heard of the Decepticons let alone seen them, than Bumblebee wouldn't be lying in med-bay gasping for breath._

_Ratchet saw his discomfort and suggested, "Why don't we ask the kid? After all it's his life that's hanging in the balance not ours."_

_Optimus let out a sigh of relief then immediately felt guilty. It wasn't right that Bumblebee had to choose his fate. It wasn't right that he had this virus let alone decide what happened to him. If the situation was reversed what would he want? Would he want someone else to decide his fate? Optimus straightened his shoulders and put on a brave face, he would go in there and be the leader, no be the friend, that Bumblebee so desperately needed right now. He prayed that it would be enough._

_Bumblebee stared silently at the two older bots as Ratchet finished outlining his plan._

"_So," he said at last. "You want to put me in cryo-stasis while you try and find a cure for me?"_

_Ratchet nodded. "It's just temporary, kid. It shouldn't take me that long to find a cure."_

"_I just don't want to go into stasis and wake two million stellar cycles later to find out that all of you are offline."_

_Ratchet hesitated; he really hated to do this. He really, really hated to do this but it wasn't about him anymore; it was about Bumblebee. "I promise, Bumblebee, that if in one thousand stellar cycles I still haven't found a cure I will permanently offline you myself."_

"_Promise?" Bumblebee asked weakly._

_Ratchet nodded, feeling energon gathering at the corners of his optics. "I promise."_

"_Ok do it."_

"_Are you sure?" Optimus asked. "'Cause if you're not sure then,"_

"_I appreciate the thought, boss-bot, but I would like to hurry up and get this over with now if you don't mind."_

"_Do you want to say goodbye to Bulkhead and Prowl?" Optimus asked, desperately attempting to stall._

_Ratchet didn't look annoyed by the interruption; if anything he looked slightly relieved._

"_Yeah, I'd like to see them," 'one last time' Bumblebee thought but didn't say. For some reason he had this terrible foreboding that he wouldn't ever see any of them again._

_Bulkhead and Prowl quickly entered, having spent the last two days hovering outside of med-bay. Bulkhead rushed to his friend's side and clutched the smaller yellow servos in his massive green paw._

"_How you feelin', 'Bee?" he asked, hope and the strain of the past few weeks combined with virtually no recharge had made his already deep voice even deeper._

"_Just fine, Bulky," Bumblebee lied, trying to sound cheerful. "My spark hurts a little but other than that I'm just peachy."_

"_That's good," Bulkhead didn't look as relieved as he should have; obviously he had sensed the lie in Bumblebee's voice but didn't call him on it._

"_Peachy? And what does a small, round juicy fruit have to do with sparks?" the look of confusion on Prowl's face caused 'Bee to laugh but was quickly replaced by a painful sounding cough._

"_We have to hurry," Ratchet said. "Any longer and it will useless to even attempt it."_

"_What's going on?" Bulkhead asked._

_Prowl's blue optics had taken everything in and he turned to Ratchet, "You're putting him in cryo-stasis."_

"_But I thought you were going to try to find a cure for him," Bulkhead protested._

_He probably would have continued yelling if it hadn't been for 'Bee tapping his arm. "Hey, Bulky, you'll take good care of yourself while I'm in stasis won't you?"_

"_Of course," Bulkhead sniffed._

"_And you'll make sure that Prowl and the others have some fun? And you'll be good for Ratchet when he needs to examine you?"_

_Bulkhead nodded again while Prowl interjected, "I have plenty of fun."_

'_Bee snorted. "Somehow I doubt hanging upside down from a tree is considered fun, Prowl. Especially if all you do is watch cats stalk birds."_

"_It's called observing nature, not that you would understand what that even means."_

_As Ratchet watched the three young mechs squabble as had become the norm for them he felt sad. He wished he didn't have to put 'Bee in stasis but it was the only option. More than likely he would find the cure in a few years. However, he did record the discussion…just in case._

"_It's time," Ratchet's voice indicated that it would be best if they didn't delay any longer._

"_Bye, 'Bee," Bulkhead said sadly as Ratchet connected a wire to Bumblebee's helm and started typing in lines of code on the monitor._

"_Bye, guys don't forget about me."_

_Bumblebee watched as the four larger mechs gathered around him, varying expressions of sadness on their faceplates. He kept his optics trained on them even as he felt the stasis coding taking over his body. Eventually his optics closed and his world went white._

Two Million Stellar Cycles Later

Ship: Omega Supreme

Exact position: Unknown

"Ratchet!"

Sometimes if Ratchet was really still and really quiet and didn't focus his optics on anything in particular he could just make out the features of a certain yellow mech. Sometimes the apparition would run and other times it would just stand there and look reproachfully at Ratchet until the older mech lowered his head in shame only to look up and find no one there.

"Ratchet!"

Of course there were also the times when he could swear that he heard his name being called by voices that had long since gone to rest.

"Ratchet!"

Ratchet started awake, startled to realize that the voice wasn't coming from his imagination but rather from Optimus Prime's grandson who was also named Optimus Prime.

"Are you okay?" Optimus looked worried as did the other three Autobots with him.

"I'm okay," Ratchet growled, "just remembering some things I'd rather not."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Optimus offered.

_Yep just like his grandfather,_ Ratchet thought but didn't feel annoyed as he usually did.

"As a matter of fact I would," he said, startling the much younger mechs. "Bring me that box, Jasmina," he gestured to a large metal box covered in Cybertonian glyphs that was sitting in the corner.

Jasmina, a lovely white-and-blue femme, nodded and went to retrieve it returning momentarily.

Ratchet opened the box, ignoring the fact that his servos were shaking; he reached in and pulled out an old datapad. On was a picture of him, Optimus, Prowl, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee. He handed the datapad to Optimus and pointed out who everyone was.

"Who was Bumblebee?" Brawn asked.

"He was your father's best friend," Ratchet replied. "He was loud, annoying, whiny, careless, loyal to a fault, brave and so very…Bumblebee."

"Why don't you ever talk about him?" Peaches was gold-and-black and slender. She was also a cyber-ninja to boot just like her grandfather.

Ratchet sighed, "Because we betrayed him. A long time ago he trusted us implicitly and we betrayed him."

A/N: This is for all of you who read 'The End of the Transformers' and reviewed asking for a sequel. Please let me know what you think. I must have three review per chapter or else I won't continue. Five is preferable but I will be happy with three.


	2. The Promise

The Lost Scout

Chapter Two: The Promise

"_You can't do that!" Optimus's voice was so loud Ratchet was sure that people in New York could hear him not that he cared. They were too busy focusing on the cause of the racket._

"_I can and I will," Sentinel sounded smug; more than he had a long time and that was saying something. "He's half-Decepticon which gives me the right to do whatever I want to him."_

"_But he's never betrayed us," Optimus protested. "In fact he's nearly been off-lined several times trying to save us!"_

_Sentinel gave a derisive snort. "How do you know that he wasn't trying to turn you in at the time?"_

"_Because I know Bumblebee and he may be a lot of things but never a traitor. He's far too loyal for that," Optimus's voice left no room for doubt making Ratchet wish that Bumblebee was there to hear him say that._

"_I'm sorry Optimus," Sentinel sure didn't sound sorry Ratchet thought sourly, "but rules are rules."_

"_Sometimes rules are made to be broken," Prowl suggested casually._

_Sentinel whirled on him. "If any of you so much as think of letting him out of stasis you'll wind up in so many pieces that no one will ever be able to find you and put you back together again! Is that understood?"_

_Ratchet opened his mouth to say that it wasn't understood but a look from Optimus kept him quiet._

"_Understood," he grumped and the other three followed his example._

"_Good," Sentinel beamed. "Now just to make sure that you understand I'll be placing guards around him just in case he 'happens to accidentally wake up'."_

_He turned and started to walk away only to turn at the last minute and say, "Oh and don't even think about trying to find a cure for him. If he does wake up I want him to offline the slowest, most painful way possible."_

_It took Optimus, Ratchet and Prowl to physically restrain Bulkhead who was growling and snarling and making no attempt to hide the fact that he would love to permanently off-line Sentinel right then and there._

Two hours later the four young bots stared at Ratchet in silence. They couldn't believe their auditory sensors.

"You betrayed your own friend?" Brawn was the most vocal which was understandable as he was related to Bulkhead.

"We did not mean to," Ratchet sounded weaker than he had in several solar cycles. "We discussed going to look for him but with the transwarp thruster that Sentinel placed in his stasis pod we had no idea of where to look. We never gave up hope that we would find him one day though."

"Couldn't you just track him?" Jasmina wanted to know.

Ratchet shook his head, the metal creaking in protest at the unexpected move. "He placed a blocker on the thruster so it was impossible to find him. However that was two million stellar cycles ago and there are now ways of overriding that."

"Let me get this straight," Optimus said. "You put your friend in stasis so he wouldn't die, Sentinel discovered that he's half-Decepticon and so now he's warping around space randomly and you want us to find him? What are we supposed to do: just wake him up? We don't even have a cure and…"

"Actually there is a cure," Ratchet interrupted. "I continued working on it, albeit in secret and I found it five stellar cycles to the day." He lifted five more datapads from the box and extended them to Optimus.

Optimus looked at them hesitantly. "What's on them?" he asked.

"The cure is on one the others contain messages to Bumblebee from the rest of us. Please, Optimus," Ratchet's tone changed. Now it sounded like he was _begging_ Optimus. "I promised your grandfather while he was on his deathbed that I would find Bumblebee and free him but as you can see it's too late for me to do which is why I must ask you. Please?"

Optimus hesitated again. He looked at Ratchet. He saw the sadness in the old bot's eyes and realized that whatever might have happened all those stellar cycles was deeply regretted now. All past mistakes had been paid for many times. He sighed heavily and gently took the datapads from Ratchet's extended servos.

"I promise."

Ratchet looked grateful and opened his mouth to say something but before he could get anything out he began coughing then, just as suddenly as it had started, he stopped.

"He's not going to be around much longer," Jasmina's bedside manner could really use fixing Optimus thought sourly but she had learned from Ratchet so that was no surprise.

"Be patient with him," Ratchet pleaded. "As far as he knows he went into stasis just a few minutes ago. He's not expecting strangers to wake him up he'll be looking for me or one of the others."

"You need to rest," Jasmina's tone brooked no argument.

"Wait," he gasped. "On the datapad with the cure there are four codes each with a name attached to it. You must enter the codes in the order that they are listed and then the coding for the cure to wake 'Bee up."

Peaches raised an optic ridge. "Paranoid were we?"

"Just a little," Ratchet confessed. "But after what Sentinel did we were grateful that we had taken precautions. We didn't really want a scavenger taking 'Bee apart."

He fell silent and the three Autobots watched carefully as he struggled for each breath a quick glance at Jasmina showed that Ratchet was not long for this world. They didn't have to wait long. Five breems later he took in one last deep, shuddering breath then stopped breathing altogether. The monitors he was hooked up to beeped as a flat line appeared on the screen.

Jasmina unhooked the machines and pulled the thermal blanket over Ratchet's faceplate. Brawn sniffed and Peaches placed a comforting servo on his shoulder. Optimus just looked at the body of the dead Autobot and felt determination start to run through his energon lines. Ratchet had entrusted him with a mission and he would fulfill it no matter what.


	3. Accepting A Mission

The Lost Scout

Chapter 3: Accepting A Mission

_Ratchet paused in the doorway, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. Brawn sat on the chair next to Bulkhead's recharge berth just watching his father._

_Brawn turned in his chair and saw Ratchet; the relief on his faceplate was saddening. _

"_I can come back later if you like," Ratchet offered._

_Brawn shook his head, "No, he said he wanted to see you. I already said my goodbyes."_

_Brawn turned to leave but Ratchet stopped him. "I'm truly sorry."_

_Brawn just nodded and exited the room, leaving Ratchet alone with Bulkhead._

"_Hey, Ratchet," Bulkhead's voice sounded weak; much weaker than it ever had before._

"_So how are you doing?" he tried not to think about how dumb that question sounded._

"_Not so good. At least I know how 'Bee felt that day huh?" Bulkhead didn't sound accusatory but he should._

"_About that," Ratchet began but was cut off by the other mech._

"_I don't blame you for that, Ratchet. You were just doing what you thought was best and I can understand that. Really I can. I just…miss him."_

"_I miss him too, Bulkhead. He might have been annoying but he was still Bumblebee," Ratchet lowered himself into the chair, ignoring the ominous creaking of his joints as they protested._

"_If I could I'd go back in time and steal him before Sentinel got there. Just take 'im and go exploring the galaxy. You know me and 'Bee discussed doing that once. We said we'd do it when we got old and go looking for a femme to settle down with; have a sparkling each then offline so we wouldn't have to deal with raising it."_

"_That sounds like Bumblebee all right," Ratchet said with a chuckle. _

_The two old friends had been sitting in silence for about two hours when Bulkhead suddenly said, "'Bee, is that you?"_

_Ratchet frowned as he glanced around the room; no small yellow sub-compact mech stood there._

"_Bulkhead, there's nobody here," Ratchet said worriedly._

"_Look, 'Bee, if it's about that I'm sorry, really! I didn't Sentinel would did if I had I would've, I don't know, stolen you or something."_

_Ratchet was starting to get a little concerned. He clearly recognized the signs of dementia and he realized that Bulkhead's time was nearly at an end._

"_I'm so sorry, 'Bee," Bulkhead was sobbing outright. "Please, please forgive me."_

_Bulkhead took a shuddering gasp then laid still, his optics going dim. Ratchet knew at that moment that if he had a heart it would have been breaking. As it was his spark felt…pained, in a way it hadn't felt for millions of stellar cycles._

Forgive me, 'Bee,_ he thought silently. _What have I done?

The next few days passed quickly while they made preparations for Ratchet's funeral.

"We'll jettison him into space tomorrow," Jasmina sighed heavily.

"I don't suppose we could wait," Optimus tried not to sound so hopeful but failed miserably.

Peaches looked confused, "Wait for…" her voice trailed off as an understanding gleam shone in her blue optics. "You really intend to look for Bumblebee?"

"Look, Ratchet asked me to find him and that's just what I intend to do. I know you're not too thrilled about it but he asked us, after all Ratchet did for us it's the least we can do for him. Now please help me. I can't do this by myself."

Jasmina, Peaches and Brawn exchanged glances then all three of them sighed heavily.

"I've located his signal," Brawn said. "He should warp here within three days."

Optimus smiled warmly at his crew. "Thank you," he said his vocal processor thick with emotion.

A/N: Sorry this chapter's so short but my muse is still at my friend's house in her pool and it won't come back to me no matter how hard I beg it to.

A/A/N: Don't forget I need 3 reviews before I post chapter 4.


	4. Finding A Bumblebee

The Lost Scout

Chapter 4: Finding A Bumblebee

_Prowl stifled a yawn as he entered his quarters. Even being back on Cybertron had done little to change his habits; all that was in the room was a recharge berth, desk which was noticeably empty except for three datapads, and an Earth tree. The tree was small enough that it could still be in a pot except for the fact that it was a twentieth generation tree. He was quite surprised actually that the tree had even grown. Cybertron was not known for its organic life or nature which was why Prowl had transported an entire shipload of dirt and plants back to the planet; without Sentinel Prime finding out of course._

_Despite the fact that all he wanted to do was lie down and recharge he redirected his steps towards the desk. Once there he reached out a servo and gently picked up the one on top then headed towards his berth. He didn't look at it until he had stretched out on his berth then he found the courage to raise his optics and looked at the picture. It was a classic Bumblebee moment; the young 'bot had just been complimented by Optimus Prime for taking down a Decepticon thus saving Prowl's life and so had struck a pose, for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom Prowl had had an irresistible urge and so had taken a holopic of the moment. He might now have been able to figure why he did it all those stellar cycles about but he sure as slag was glad now!_

_Another yawn broke into his thoughts and he blinked his optics. He'd go into recharge then he'd go talk to Peaches, maybe tell her about Bumblebee. Yes, he'd do that right after he woke up._

_He never woke back up. Ratchet and Optimus found him two breems later with the datapad clutched to his chest plates._

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Peaches asked for what had to be the millionth time.

Brawn huffed and said, "Yes I'm positive. If we tractor beam the stasis pod then we should be able to prevent it from warping anywhere long enough for one us to disable the transwarp thruster. Then we'll bring it onboard and bring him out of stasis. Why does everyone doubt me on this?"

"I don't know maybe it's the fact that you're the same mech who thought that Unicron lived under your recharge berth and woke everyone up with your screaming!" Jasmina yelled as the rest winced at the memory.

"Hey," they all turned to look at Optimus. "If Brawn says he can do it then I believe him. We should all have faith in our teammates…"

"Here he goes again," Peaches sighed internally. It seemed that Optimus had inherited his grandfather's penchant for giving long, boring speeches that were specially designed to send bots into stasis lock.

"There won't be any point in bring Bumblebee out of stasis," Jasmina grumbled, "Especially if Optimus decides to 'welcome' him back to the world of the living."

Brawn and Peaches both sniggered at that, unfortunately out loud causing Optimus to turn and glare at them.

"Sorry, boss," Brawn tried to look repentant but didn't entirely succeed.

"You keep it up and I'll put the three of you in stasis," Optimus threatened, wandering if his grandfather had ever had this much trouble keeping his troops in line. Probably more if the stories told by Ratchet were to be believed. He felt a slight pang in his spark at the thought of the grumpy medic. Ratchet might have been very grumpy and had a terrible bedside manner but he had been a good friend; someone you could rely on to always be there no matter what. He wondered what Ratchet had been like back in his grandfather's day. He brightened up when he realized that he would soon have the chance to find out. Suddenly his musings were interrupted by Brawn.

"He should be here in approximately five nanokliks," the big green and black mech said.

"Ready the tractor beam," Optimus ordered feeling excitement course through his energon lines.

"Readying the tractor beam," Peaches confirmed.

"Jasmina, I want you to be ready to administer medical aid if need be, I'll enter the codes that Ratchet gave me."

"Understood, Optimus," Jasmina still hadn't lost the lazy tone to her voice; no doubt something she had inherited her father who was one of the most laidback mechs Optimus had ever met.

"He should be appearing…now!"

There was a burst of light then a stasis pod appeared with a transwarp thruster attached to the top. Brawn activated the tractor beam and began towing the pod inside. When the pod reached the cargo bay Optimus and the others were already waiting, the datapad containing the codes clutched in Optimus's left hand.

The astrosecond the pod landed with a gentle thump, Optimus was already moving and quickly reached it. The first thing he did was deactivate the thruster so he didn't have to worry about the missing scout warping away while he was trying to work. Then he looked carefully until he found the panel that opened the pod. He typed in the five codes, making sure that they were in the correct order then hastily stepped back as the white cloud inside the stasis pod began to dissapitate.

"What's it doing?" Brawn asked fearfully.

"He's waking up," Jasmina said briefly and succinctly.

They all watched in nervous anticipation as the lid to the pod lifted and out stepped a small, sub-compact yellow mech.

"Hey, guys," he said cheerfully, "what's…" his voice trailed off when he turned and caught sight of the four very unfamiliar bots standing there.

"I'm guessing I'm not in Detroit any more huh?"

A/N: Don't forget-three reviews per chapter!


	5. Explanations & Introductions

The Lost Scout

Chapter 5: Explanations & Introductions

_Optimus couldn't think of a time when he had felt so tired, not even the time that he had let Bulkhead, Sari, and Bumblebee talk him into staying up all night and watch horror movies with them had left him feeling this drained._

_At the thought of the little yellow mech Prime felt a burst of sadness, much more powerful than the tiredness overtaking him._

_Ratchet stepped into the room and gave the Prime a baleful glare. "I'm older than you, kid," he said without preamble. "Slag, I'm older than all three of you and yet you're all going to die before me. Life really isn't fair."_

"_Sorry, Ratchet," Optimus apologized then wheezed for breath. "At least Bumblebee's still alive."_

_Ratchet froze, mid-movement. "Yeah I guess so."_

_Optimus felt guilty and immediately apologized, "I didn't mean to make you feel bad, Ratchet, I just can't help but think about him today."_

"_I know exactly what you mean," Ratchet replied as he glanced at the monitors telling him Optimus's condition._

"_I'm not doing well am I?"_

_Ratchet hesitated then shook his head, "No, you're not. You won't be online much longer. Frankly I'm surprised you made this far but the…the four of you always managed to surprise me. Especially…" Ratchet's voice trailed off. Even now, even after all this time he couldn't find it in his spark to say that word, that one word._

_The two mechs sat in silence for several nanokliks then Optimus abruptly broke out laughing._

"_What's so funny?" Ratchet demanded._

"_Remember that time 'Bee wrestled that shriveled up little old man that turned out to be a twenty-foot man who looked like he had been abusing steroids?"_

_Ratchet did his best not to let the surprise show on his faceplates. They hadn't mentioned 'Bee in over one thousand stellar cycles and even then it had just been in passing. Instead he allowed a soft smile to appear and said, "Oh do I ever. We had just gotten him to calm down and then Bulkhead had to go and call him 'little buddy'. I didn't think we'd ever get 'Bee to settle down after that."_

_The next several hours were spent reminiscing old times, both staying away from more recent topics such as the deaths of Bulkhead and Prowl and the excruciatingly painful topic of Bumblebee's current predicament._

"_You know what the worst thing is about this whole thing?"_

"_What's that?" Ratchet tried not to sound too curious but it was difficult. One thousand stellar cycles of avoiding the 'white elephant' so to speak only to spend an entire day discussing it. Idly he wandered if he would be discussing 'Bee on his death bed then decided that he didn't want to think about it._

"_It's not the fact that he's just warping around in space although that is pretty bad but the worst thing was the look on his face. You remember that, Ratchet?"_

_There was very little the white and red bot didn't remember when it came to things that he would have rather forgotten._

"_Yeah, I remember," he said softly. As long as he lived, if he even forgot his own name he would never forget that look of absolute _trust _on the smaller mech's face as he went into stasis._

"_He trusted us, trusted me to keep him safe and I failed."_

_Ratchet was forcibly dragged out of his mind at the sound of the Prime's voice. He forced himself to pay attention to what was being said._

"_It wasn't your fault, kid. If anybody's to blame, then blame Sentinel. None of this would have happened if that glitch hadn't tossed 'Bee into space."_

"_We're still to blame," Optimus said sadly. "We could have taken the matter to Ultra Magnus, taken the guards; done something!"_

"_Prime," Ratchet started quietly._

"_He would've done the same for us," Optimus whispered and Ratchet found himself closing his optics wearily._

_Optimus was right. 'Bee might have been annoying but his spark was in the right place and had any of them been in his position 'Bee wouldn't have stopped until all of them were safe and sound, not caring about the consequences. Hadn't the incident with Bulkhead, the wall, and Sentinel Prime already proved that?_

"_Will you promise me something, Ratchet?" Optimus said suddenly._

"_What?" Ratchet was just a little bit wary of making promises seeing how the last one had turned out._

"_Promise me you'll find me, Ratchet. Promise me you'll find Bumblebee and wake him up." blue optics looked up into faded blue optics. "Please?"_

"_I promise, Prime," Ratchet said quietly._

"_Thank you," Prime closed his eyes and drifted into recharge._

_Three days later he was buried next to his wife, Elita One._

"So uh who are you people?" the yellow bot asked.

As leader Optimus took it upon himself to introduce them. "I am Optimus Prime, this is my second-in-command Peaches, Brawn and my medic Jasmina."

"Hello."

"Hi."

"Yo."

"You're not Optimus Prime," the mech stated. "I know Optimus Prime and you are certainly not him, even if your paintjob does look a little like familiar."

"I'm his grandson. You must be Bumblebee."

"Whatever gave you that idea? Wait…grandson?"

Bumblebee was very confused. The last thing he remembered was going into stasis staring at the beloved faces of his comrades. The next thing he knew he was waking up and staring at four very unfamiliar faces, one of whom claimed to be Optimus Prime's grandson. If that was true (and Bumblebee couldn't figure out any reason why he should lie) then that meant 'Bee had been in stasis way longer than one thousand stellar cycles like Ratchet had promised. Wait an astrosecond. Ratchet!

"Where's your grandfather?" Bumblebee saw no reason to beat around the bush.

"He off-lined two thousand stellar cycles ago," Optimus junior replied.

"Prowl?"

"Three thousand stellar cycles ago."

"Bulkhead?"

The big green and black mech looked the most upset as he said, "One million stellar cycles ago."

"Ratchet?"

"Two days ago."

"Jazz?"

"My dad's still online," Jasmina said happily.

Now that Bumblebee thought about it if he squinted and looked at her in the right light she bore a great resemblance to the Elite Guard cyber ninja. As much of a resemblance as a femme can that is.

"Prowl adopted me," Peaches said in an emotionless tone that sounded so much like Prowl that Bumblebee had to blink to be sure that it was a femme standing in front of him and not a more familiar mech.

"Bulkhead was my dad," Brawn said proudly.

"I can see the family resemblance," 'Bee said sarcastically.

A/N: 3 reviews, people! I'm almost through with this story, just a few more chapters and then I can start working on the prequel and another sequel.

A/N/N: I promise that the next chapter will have more Bumblebee in it. I just had to do Optimus's death in this one and it turned out to be longer than I originally thought it would be.

Please review!


	6. Tearful Apologies

The Lost Scout

Chapter 6: Tearful Apologies

Ratchet's service had been a…quiet affair. Bumblebee had remained silent the entire time, save for a few words that he spoke at the end then he fell quiet once more. It just didn't fit with what Optimus had heard about the yellow mech. Of course waking up two million stellar cycles later than you expected only to find that almost everyone you knew was dead…well that had be disconcerting to say the least.

Jasmina had tried to start up a conversation with him while she was making sure that the virus had died when Optimus fed the cure into the stasis pod but to no avail. He simply wouldn't talk to them. After two days of moping Optimus finally remembered the datapads that Ratchet had given to him to give to Bumblebee.

He found Bumblebee sitting in the cargo bay looking sadly at his empty stasis pod which still sat there.

"Hello, junior," Bumblebee said.

"Hey um before Ratchet…passed on he asked me to give these to you," Optimus handed the datapads to Bumblebee who took them and looked at them, curiosity shining in his baby blue optics.

"Do you know what's on them?" Bumblebee asked.

Optimus shook his head. "Sorry I don't. He said something about a message to you but I really don't know."

"That's Ratchet, cryptic as always." They stood there in awkward silence before Bumblebee finally said, "Look I really am grateful to you for waking me up…it's just, I didn't expect it to be this long. I thought I was gonna be there one hundred stellar cycles' tops. I didn't expect to wake up and find out that almost everyone I know is offline. Do you understand?"

Yes, Optimus did understand. He thought about what he would feel like if he went into stasis only to wake up stellar cycles later only to find out that his crew was all offline. He felt a wave of pity wash over him and he tried not to let it show on his face, he had a sneaking suspicion that this mech would not appreciate it.

"Thank you," Bumblebee said then hurried off to his room.

Bumblebee entered his quarters and took a deep breath. It still smelled like it had the last time he had been on the ship. He had meant what said when he told Optimus that he was grateful because he really was he just…he didn't know how he was supposed to feel now. Was he supposed to be happy or be sad? Was he supposed to become the Ratchet of the ship? The mech with all the wisdom that comes with experience? He really, really hoped not. He didn't want to wind up as a grumpy old, bot but he could understand Ratchet much better now. That was a scary thought.

Shaking his head to rid himself of his rather depressing thoughts he walked over to the desk and sat down. Then he pressed a button on one of the datapads and Ratchet's face suddenly appeared.

"_Hello, Bumblebee,"_ Ratchet said. _"I guess if you're watching this than that means you're alive and well and I'm not. I can't even begin to say how sorry I am about what happened. None of us thought that even Sentinel would go that far."_

_That's cause you don't know what he knew,_ 'Bee thought silently then refocused his attention

"_Well I'm gonna skip the rest of the apologies 'cause I'm sure you're starting to feel uncomfortable and just tell you what's been happening while you were out of it so you'll be a little bit prepared. The first thing is, which I'm sure you already know by now, is that Bulkhead and the others are dead. Also that the crew on this ship are their descendants. I'm still not sure where Optimus managed to find the cure for her but he eventually bonded with Elita One, after she was changed back of course. They had a mech and then he and his wife had the current Optimus. Bulkhead married some girl that he had met back on the energon farm and they had Brawn." _Here Ratchet took a deep breath before continuing,_ "Bulkhead asked for you at the end, he just kept calling for you, didn't even recognize me anymore. Just wanted you to forgive him."_

Bumblebee let out a loud sniff. _Oh, Bulky, _he thought sadly. _I'm so sorry, big guy._

"_Prowl found Peaches wandering the streets, apparently she was a war orphan like him so he took her in. I'd watch out for her if I were you. She might be drop-dead gorgeous but she certainly knows how to use those sais of hers like nobody's business."_

_Of course Prowl would have a daughter that knows how to kick aft,_ Bumblebee smiled, just a little though.

"_Apparently Jazz had some girlfriend back on Cybertron and they bonded when we returned; Jasmina's a medic but she knows a few moves herself._

"_But you're probably wondering about Sari aren't you?"_

'Bee had almost forgotten about Sari but judging by the expression on Ratchet's face he suspected that he could already guess what had happened to her.

"_She came back to Cybertron with us but she didn't last long. I mean she lived a whole lot longer than most humans do but she just didn't make it. She died about five hundred thousand stellar cycles after we returned; of course she couldn't die like any normal person. No, she had to go and offline herself while attempting some stupid stunt. Stupid girl broke her neck."_

'Bee knew he shouldn't laugh, he really shouldn't but he just couldn't help himself. Only Ratchet could make dying a tragic death sound like that person's fault. He let out a little snigger that quickly turned into a choked sob. He couldn't cry, not right now. Maybe later. After he finished watching the datapads.

"_I'm guess what I'm trying to say, kid, is that I'm sorry. Really sorry. We should've fought for you. We could've taken it to the Council or even Ultra Magnus, not let that glitch head get his greasy servos on you. I'm sorry, 'Bee. I hope that one day you can forgive us forgive me for what we did all those years ago. I'm really sorry, kid. Ratchet out."_

Bumblebee stared at the blank screen and blinked when he felt his throat constrict. _I don't hate you, Ratchet,_ he thought, _I know it wasn't your fault. It was my own fault. I should never have told any of you my secret. Especially Sentinel. The rest of you are _NOT_ to blame._

Then he settled back down to look at the rest of the datapads.

A/N: When 'Bee was laughing earlier he wasn't being cruel or glad that Sari was dead; he's in hysterics in case none of you managed to figure that out. He's having a tough time of dealing with everything so he deals with it the only way he knows how.

A/N/N: Don't forget 3 reviews! Also, there should only be one or possibly two chapters left in this story then comes the prequel and, maybe after that, another sequel.

Please R & R!


	7. New Beginnings & New Goodbyes

The Lost Scout

Chapter 7: New Beginnings & New Goodbyes

None of them knew for sure what had happened. All they knew was that Bumblebee had gone into his room, clutching several datapads in his hand then when he had emerged he had been…different. He had grabbed Peaches and attempted to waltz her across the bridge of the ship only to get threatened with her sais. Jasmina had proven to be a much more willing partner than her femme counterpart and the two had danced for hours. Optimus and Brawn had started with loose-hanging jaws until Bumblebee had said, while going past them, "You do know that your faceplate is going to get stuck like that, dontcha?"

The two had snapped their jaws shut but continued to watch him with bewildered gazes, causing 'Bee to laugh heartily as he twirled Jasmina around and around before dipping her so low that her helm almost touched the floor. The kiss he attempted to give her didn't exactly go according to plan but the hit 'Bee received from the wrench tucked into one of her subspace pockets wasn't entirely unexpected to the ones watching.

He had turned and given them a grin and in that instant Optimus Prime saw Bumblebee. Not 'Bee, not kid, not one of a dozen derogatory names but Bumblebee. He saw the Bumblebee that his grandfather and crew mates had mourned for, the Bumblebee that drug a chuckle from Ratchet's rusty vocal processor and caused a wistful smile to appear on his faceplate. He saw Bumblebee as he was truly meant to be seen and Optimus felt strangely humbled by the experience but also rather sad. Sad because he knew that Bumblebee was not for them to keep; sad because Bumblebee would never truly be there with them but on a faraway planet that had been destroyed stellar cycles ago along with bots that had all off-lined.

The others saw it too, that much he knew. He watched Jasmina blink her optics rapidly even as Peaches turned her head away from them and Brawn probably looked like his father had on his deathbed. They all had the same expression on their faceplates that Optimus had on his; heartbreak.

* * *

><p>Several more stellar cycles passed by, they now had a new crew member; Metallica. She was a rather feisty femme who didn't lack at all in courage, or size and the crew had rapidly accepted her. Bumblebee watched from the sidelines as she was welcomed into the makeshift little family with open arms and he felt a small pang in his spark even as he disappeared further back into the shadows. He didn't blame them; he was merely an obligation to them. A promise that they had made to Ratchet on his deathbed and had had to keep. They had fulfilled their part of the bargain and he had done his best to fulfill his but he wasn't right for them. There was a certain tension; the sort of tension that fills the room when you're expected to entertain the friend of a friend and you have absolutely nothing in common.<p>

Optimus had been looking over some datapads when the familiar sound of the door chime sounded.

"Enter," he called.

Bumblebee came in hesitantly, his blue optics looking anywhere but at Optimus.

"What's wrong?" Optimus asked, immediately concerned. He had noticed that the minibot had been more quiet and withdrawn of late than usual and he had resolved to take action only to get distracted.

"Nothing's wrong," 'Bee said with a soft smile. "In fact everything's perfect now."

Optimus cocked his head to one side and waited for 'Bee to clarify.

"I noticed a long time that this ship was missing something, something vital."

"What was that?"

"A Bumblebee or in your case a Metallica."

"I…don't understand," in truth Optimus thought that he did understand but he didn't really want to hear where this conversation was going.

Bumblebee plopped down in one of the chairs in front of Optimus's desk and began to explain. "You see, all the great heroes had great crews. The first Optimus Prime had Jazz, Ironhide, Ratchet, Prowl, Bumblebee and your grandfather had Prowl, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee. When I first got here you were missing something and so I decided to fill that hole so to speak. I tried to be the best Bumblebee that there could be but you didn't need a Bumblebee. You needed a Metallica and now you got her so you don't need me anymore."

"We still need you," Optimus said desperately.

Bumblebee just shook his head, "No you don't. I don't belong here, Optimus. I belong in a world that was destroyed two million stellar cycles ago. I belong in a time when there was a Megatron, Starscream, Sari, the All Spark…I belong in a time where they needed a Bumblebee. Your crew is complete now and I need to find my way home."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Optimus asked quietly.

Bumblebee seemed to consider then brightened up saying, "As a matter of fact there is one thing…"

* * *

><p>As Optimus, Jasmina, Peaches, Brawn and Metallica watched Omega Supreme slowly lift off from the planet's surface he thought back on 'Bee's parting words….<p>

"_So like what's going to happen to us?" Jasmina asked. _

"_Nothing," 'Bee replied._

"_You're not going to try to go back in time and change the timeline are you?" Optimus asked worriedly then mentally slapped himself when he saw the yellow mech's optics light up._

"_Hey I never even thought about that," 'Bee said excitedly then his smile dimmed when he saw the worried and apprehensive looks thrown his way._

"_Hey," he said gently, "No matter what happens; no matter even if I go back and change the course of the Great War sparks and friends will always find each other no matter what. So don't worry, you guys will always be together."_

"_Maybe you'll find your family too," Metallica spoke up for the first time._

_'Bee's smile turned wistful. "I hope so," he said quietly. "I really hope so."_

They continued watching until the ship had completely disappeared from view before turning and walking back to their new ship that had been christened _The Bumblebee; _a fitting name in Optimus's opinion. It was both a tribute to Bumblebee and to themselves.

Just as he was about to enter the ship he paused and turned and glanced up at the sky. "I hope you find your family too, Bumblebee," he whispered then disappeared into the ship to join his family.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and review my story. I hope you enjoyed it and I would like to apologize if it's not as good as everyone thought or as long as some people wanted it to be.

A/N/N/: For those of you who wanted a background story that went more into details about how and why 'Bee was in stasis in the first place…I have now started on a prequel. After I finish it I will write a sequel to this story that will contain Jazz and might even guest star a few of the OC's introduced in this story, if you want me to include them of course.

A/N/N/N: I must have at least **FIVE **reviews of this final chapter before I will start posting the prequel.

Please continue to read my stories and let me know what you think.

Once again: thank you so much for reading and reviewing this story. I really appreciate it.


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